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2×7: Arrivederci
Albie asks Dominic for a karmic payment to help Lucia. Tanya grows wary of Quentin’s motives. Ethan confronts Cam.
Mike White
ONTD, who did you hope were the murder victims (multiple choice so pick as many as you like)?
Who do you hope is the returning character in S3?
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silverstarry
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Everyone knows you’re trying it because you’re playing Glinda in a two-movie attempt at a block-buster that I’m betting is gonna flopp-
But, I’m not having it.
SHE ACTUALLY HAS THE NERVE TO CALL THIS MAKE-UP RELEASE “MOD VANILLA”.
For those of us that still remember and have eyes to see…
ONTD are you multi-racial?
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ichabod_crake
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Meanwhile, in some parts of the country, there are not enough cats and dogs for the people who want to adopt them. See the issue?
There is a veterinarian shortage, exacerbated by more people bringing pets into their homes during the pandemic. Vet prices are going up to meet the increased demand. This is leaving more and more people and pets behind.
Underfunded government shelters can’t compete at all. Most are funded at just .2% of city and county budgets. That period is in the right place: .2%. It’s far from enough, given the literal life and death stakes. In this time that veterinary costs are rising, it means—among other things—that pets in shelters are not receiving enough medical care, and sometimes no care at all, which leads to more unnecessary death.
We’ve got a quarter of pet owners saying they’ve had to move because of their pet, and 14% of renters have had to give up their pet because they could not find pet-inclusive housing, that they could afford. We could save millions of pets, with more rentals that are affordable and welcome pets.
These are among the problems that pets, and people, need the brightest minds to solve.
Dr. Jefferson recently spoke with Triple Pundit about how companies and individuals can help end pet homelessness. Read the interview here!
We need tech innovators, entrepreneurs, and pet lovers looking to make a huge impact.
These are not quick or easy projects. These are real global issues that, if solved, will mean a completely new world for pets and the people who love them.
Here are some of the areas where we need your energy and expertise:
Tech to connect more people to pets in shelters, especially to help people adopt from shelters in another city or state. This is harder than it sounds—but we know with the right minds at work, excellent products and apps can do this critical job.
Tech for shelter resident flow tracking, like the systems used to track hospital patient flow. That will allow shelters to better manage their populations, and develop and meet goals for animals’ survival.
An app that will let people use their cell phones to scan pets for microchips, instead of needing to use a specialized device often found only in vets’ offices, police stations, and animal shelters. This app would make it significantly easier to get lost pets back home.
Other tech solutions for reuniting lost pets with their families, that anyone of any income can use—such as a free crowdsourcing app that pinpoints a pet’s location.
Tech and law to solve for too many vet patients and not enough veterinarians.
Business analysts to predict foster and adoptive capacity in any community—then build software to better facilitate pets going into foster and adoptive homes. Especially in communities with more capacity than their local shelters need, this is another instance where tech can save lives by connecting people to pets outside of their local community.
Tech support to build industry report cards that help any community see how they are doing in terms of pet ownership and pet equity.
Legislative support to overturn laws that allow for adoptable and treatable pets to be euthanized in shelters.
Legislative support to overturn laws that stand in the way of lifesaving cat programs like Trap Neuter Return, and to overturn breed-specific legislation—harmful laws that regulate or even prohibit dogs by breed, type, or appearance, and that lead to dogs being unable to find homes, which in turn leads to these dogs’ unnecessary death.
Funding for research into treatment for common diseases like distemper that affect hundreds of thousands of pets every year, but are largely overlooked by drug manufacturers.
Developing affordable pet products to keep pets occupied while a foster or owner is at work.
Affordable, healthy vegan pet food. The pet food industry is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for the rough equivalent of driving 13.6 million cars per year. Yet there is still not a good, cheap, healthy vegan pet food alternative.
Entrepreneurs to greatly expand the pool of affordable, pet-inclusive housing, and tech to connect people with rentals where they and their pets can live.
The majority of Americans own at least one pet. And if there is one thing we know, it’s that people LOVE their pets. In a recent national study, 98% of pet owners described their pets as family members who are as important as their human family members.
The pet industry has been growing exponentially to meet those families’ wants and needs. For the past two years, Americans have spent more than $100 billion annually on their pets.
But this boom leaves out a lot of families. Sixty-four percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Almost 1/3 of pet owners can’t afford an unexpected vet bill. Many even struggle to buy food or supplies for their pets.
The government-funded animal shelters there to support pets and people, and to take in pets whose owners can no longer keep them, are drastically underfunded for the role they are there to serve.
In a world where pets are often the most important connection we have in the world, this system is needlessly cruel and inhumane to people and the pets they call family.
So how do we bring the awesomeness of the pet boom to all pets, since we have a shared belief that pets are family? That is where you come in. We know the problems. We need your help developing the tech, entrepreneurial, and legislative solutions that will keep people and pets together, and save pets’ lives.
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We looked at our community and saw so many animals unnecessarily losing their lives due to a lack of resources and education.
Our mission is to promote and provide the resources, education, and programs needed to eliminate the killing of companion animals. And yesterday, because of our community’s long-held trust and generosity, APA! celebrated our 100,000th life saved. We had city council members Leslie Pool and Kathie Tovo join us along with board members and staff as we read a proclamation celebrating 100K lives saved with the adorable Copper present as our 100,000th life.
This celebration doesn’t just belong to APA!, it belongs to each and every one of you. So many of those furry lives saved are sitting with you now as you read this email, smiling on your phone backgrounds, or being lovingly remembered for their impact on your hearts. We invite you to watch this video showcasing just a few of the 100,000 pets your support has saved.
Thank you, Friend, for being a part of the first 100,000 lives saved by APA! and we know we can count on you for the next. Whether it is our Parvo Puppy ICU, the Feline Leukemia Adoption Center, our Medical Triage & Wellness Clinic, or another innovative program, please know that APA! will always be here for animals in need, just like you have always been there for us.
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Your love of the pets with the greatest needs inspires us to continue saving lives every single day. Today, we wanted to share one of YOUR stories.
Alyson and her partner visited APA! just two weeks after moving to Austin. “I was insistent on getting an adult or senior cat,” said Alyson. “At the time, that meant between ages five and 10, a cat that was calm and liked cuddles as much as me. Those were the parameters I relayed to the APA! worker, who immediately directed me towards Roscoe.”
“I sat on the bench in the group cage. Roscoe was almost invisible in the back corner of the only cubby. After knowing Roscoe, I realized it was because of his missing claws, he felt extremely vulnerable with other cats. But I sat next to the entrance and began to softly stroke his cheek. He crawled out slowly, rested half of his 16-lb self on my leg, and lightly purred. It was quiet and comforting; it was what I wanted. I don’t remember how many cats I met that day, but I remember knowing that he was mine.”
“Roscoe beyond everything was simply the ideal companion. We bought him a backpack, in which we would take him on trail rides and harnessed walks through the summer heat. We enjoyed watching him explore the cypress roots and the waterfronts.”
“I will never know whether it was the wisdom of age or his personality that made him such an emotive companion. We had bright days, cuddles on the couch, and danced in the kitchen. But he also held space for us in times of darkness. His patience lasted for a time when I stopped going to work. He slept on my arm as I scrolled through the devastating news. He fell asleep next to me when my fiancé went home to Slovenia, and Roscoe and I were left alone in that little apartment, to fend for ourselves in times of fear and death. Even though the emptiness of that house was harrowing, his afternoon cries for playtime, and evening snores brought me a sense of steadiness and purpose. He reminded me every day that there was a reason to stay alive and to keep moving through the routines.”
“Roscoe loved me unconditionally. Through the sleepless nights of nothingness, through the complete dismantlement of our home; through the angry phone calls and my stress pacing as I quit my job”
“To his last days, he never wanted to be apart from us. Even when he felt tired, sick, and scared, he never hid. Until his last heartbeats, I never doubted that he loved me. And as hard as we fought to save him, he fought equally hard to keep going. The last thing I said to him was, “thank you,” for his companionship, strength, and effortless love that he gave me in the two years of chaos, excitement, and change. I told him he could let go. We would be okay. I would be okay.”
“I chose to donate to Austin Pets Alive! as a thank you for giving me the gift of friendship and purpose. In the days following his passing, I was looking for ways to memorialize lost pets. One of the first recommendations was donating to an organization in their honor, and making even a small donation to his previous caretakers was the first thing I knew I had to do. Roscoe was my dearest friend, and I am grateful for the two and a half years that I spent with him. I have never forgotten where he came from and Austin Pets Alive! was always featured in the story I would retell to anyone who would listen.”
“I was sometimes questioned about my decision to adopt an elderly cat. But it was a decision I never once regretted. I know there are more animals like him in your care, and I want them to know that I love them, too.”
Because of animal lovers like Alyson who choose to honor their pets through tribute donations, we can remember pets like Roscoe who got to spend their final moments with their family. You can honor your pet by joining Alyson in giving in tribute. Your gift today will be DOUBLED, up to $100K. Don’t wait to change the life of a shelter pet in need!
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“I adopted my first kitten, now an 8-year-old cat, at a PetSmart adoption event in June 2013.
I was struggling with depression and trying to push my way through grad school and Lancelot has been helping me with his affection from our union.”
“Fast forward a few more years and I once again turned toward kittens as a way to help me with my mental health. In 2018, I was struggling with another depressive spell but this time turned to volunteering with APA!. I started off in the ringworm cattery before figuring out how to volunteer in the neonatal nursery. I really wanted to focus on the nurturing of kittens to mirror self-care.”
For many of us, self-care and mental health came into focus during the Coronavirus Pandemic, and for us Texans, during Winter Storm Uri. When Winter Storm Uri hit Texas in mid-February this year, it leftover four million people out of power and water for days. Temperatures got down to historically low single digits, and there was widespread loss of internet and cell phone reception.
In our work, lives are on the line every day. When disasters like Uri hit, it takes a village to ensure no companions’ lives are lost — no matter the circumstances. Luckily, we have people like Kimberley on our side.
“I was on my second kitten of the year when Winter Storm Uri hit,” said Kimberley. “I had an adorable 7-week old orange kitten named Finn when I lost electricity.
For three days straight he spent the majority of the time in bed with me curled up next to my chest while I was under five blankets. My older cats were on top of the blankets surrounding us. No heating pad or warm gruel during this storm. I was totally iced in.”
“I went to my car a few times in an attempt to charge my phone and had the heat on to try to keep him warmer. Prior to my in-laws taking me and all four felines in where they had electricity, I did fear he was starting to fade on me.”
Neonates, kittens from birth to six weeks of age, are often bottle-fed every few hours and often kept on heating pads during normal temperatures. Caring for Finn during Winter Storm Uri quickly became a life-or-death situation.
To perk him up, Kimberley knew she had to make warm sugar water for him to drink. But with no electricity and no running water, this wasn’t going to be easy. Luckily, Kimberley saved some clean water prior to the boiling order and was able to make the concoction with room temperature water — though room temperature was about 26 degrees.
“It was terrifying trying to keep him warm and not suffocate him as he burrowed up against my chest, sometimes inside my jacket after coming out to eat or use the litter box,” said Kimberley. “He was a trooper though.”
Despite being without power for 48 hours and without water for 72 hours, our shelter remained operational. We mobilized to place 90 percent of our population in foster homes, and our fosters were more vital than ever. Nothing stopped our teams from saving lives and placing pets in forever homes.
“I didn’t even have a halfway charged phone prior to losing power and had spotty signals at best. Yet the adoption team still managed to send me adoption requests, despite the challenges we all faced in Austin. I recall replying to two potential adopters when I had maybe 5 percent battery and trying to set up future Zoom meet and greets.” said Kimberley. “In the end, Finn did go to one of those potential adopters.”
“It was a horrible situation, but I can assure you the off-site volunteers and all of us fosters were doing our best to keep the animals alive and continuing our darndest to further Austin’s goal of No Kill. We did our best to keep the animals alive with what little resources we had without electricity.”
“At this point, I’ve taken in 64 kittens in my four kitten seasons. Of the 21 I’ve had so far this season, 4 have been through the P.A.S.S. program. The majority of my kittens have had ringworm and I do my best to inform people that ringworm is not a reason to reject an otherwise healthy animal. I hope to continue saving kittens and adding joy to other people’s lives with my fosters.”
“I truly consider myself a social worker for both humans and cats.”
Without lifesavers and advocates like Kimberley, APA! companions may have been lost during the winter storm. We need you to join Kimberley to fight for No Kill to stay in Austin so pets like Finn and all of Kimberley’s kitties get the same chances as healthy pets by making a gift today.
With our No Kill future at risk more now than ever before, we need your help TWICE as much to keep Austin No Kill. Give today and double your impact for companions in need.
What’s your Winter Storm Uri story? Interact with our posts on social media TODAY for your last chance to be featured!
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Press Release
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updated: Aug 7, 2017
NEW YORK, August 7, 2017 (Newswire.com)
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Excavations this summer on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee have uncovered what may be evidence of the ancient city, Bethsaida-Julias, home to three of Jesus’ apostles: Peter, Andrew, and Philip (John 1:44; 12:21). It was also a location for Jesus’ ministry (Mark 8:22), and is near the land where Luke’s gospel reports the miracle of Jesus feeding five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish (Luke 9:10-17).
The excavations were conducted under the auspices of the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology at Kinneret College (Israel), and directed by Dr. Mordechai Aviam together with Dr. R. Steven Notley from Nyack College (New York), who is the excavation’s academic director. Students and faculty from Nyack College joined volunteers from the U.S. and Hong Kong to excavate for two weeks in July.
Because of its importance in Christian tradition, scholars have tried to identify the site. Historical sources suggest that it was located near the Jordan River, in the large valley between Galilee and the Golan Heights. For the last 30 years, popular opinion identified Bethsaida with the site of et-Tel where archaeologists found settlement in the late Hellenistic (2nd cent. BCE) and Roman periods (1st-2nd cent. CE), including two private houses. However, traces of the Greco-Roman developments reported by historical reports are lacking. Now evidence has been discovered indicating that Bethsaida-Julias was located at another site, El Araj in the nature reserve of the Beteiha Valley on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Flavius Josephus, the first century historian tells us that in 31 CE, Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great, transformed the Jewish fishing village of Bethsaida on the Kinneret Lake (Sea of Galilee) into a Greco-Roman polis (Ant. 18:28). As governor of the region, he renamed the city Julias, after Julia Augusta (née Livia Drusilla), mother of Roman Emperor Tiberius. Decades later, Josephus himself was responsible for fortifying the city’s defenses in preparation for the Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-70 CE). In 68 CE he was wounded in battle on the swampy marshlands near Julias (Life 399-403).
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The Byzantine (4th-7th centuries CE) and Roman (1st-3rd centuries CE) period remains both point to el-Araj as the site of the city of Bethsaida-Julias. Under the Byzantine floor of a structure discovered during the first season were 30 coins that date to the 5th century CE. It is possible that these walls are the remains of a monastery which was built around a church. Combined with the many gilded glass tesserae (stone or glass cubes that are used for mosaics) that were found in the first and second season, they indicate the existence of a wealthy and important church. A Byzantine eyewitness, Willibald, the bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria, visited the Holy Land in 725 CE, and describes a visit to a church at Bethsaida that was built over the house of Peter and Andrew. It may be that the current excavations have unearthed remains from that church.
Roman pottery that dates between the 1st – 3rd centuries was uncovered under the Byzantine level. A bronze coin of the late 2nd century CE and a beautiful silver denarius of the emperor Nero from the year 65-66 CE that reads “Nero, Caesar Augustus” were also found. This alone could disprove speculation that there was no human presence at el-Araj in the Roman period. Furthermore, a Roman wall was discovered at a depth nearly 693 feet (211.16m) below sea level. Adjacent to this wall was a large portion of mosaic flooring with a white and black meander pattern still attached to its original plaster and similar to other mosaics known from first-century sites around the lake. Along with the discovery of clay bricks and ceramic vents (tubuli), which are typical to Roman bathhouses, these finds are evidence of urbanization.
Another important contribution from this season is the elevation of the remains. Most scholars agree today, following the excavators of Magdala that the level of the lake was 209 meters below sea level, and so they assume that the site of el-Araj was under water until the Byzantine period.
The current excavations have demonstrated that the level of the lake was much lower than previously thought, and el-Araj most certainly was not under water in the first century CE. Two geologists, Professor Noam Greenbaum from Haifa University and Dr. Nati Bergman from the Yigal Alon Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, studied the layers of the site and pointed out that there are layers of soil which indicate that the site was covered with mud and clay that were carried by the Jordan River in the late Roman period, and which corresponds to a gap in material remains from about 250 CE to 350 CE, but in the Byzantine period, the site was resettled.
The El-Araj Excavations Project was made possible through the generous support of the Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins, Nyack College, the Assemblies of God, and HaDavar Yeshiva (Hong Kong).
The excavations will continue next year, June 17-July 12, 2018 with the expectation to uncover more evidence for the Roman period settlement and the lost city of Jesus’ apostles!
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The Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins (CS-AJCO) seeks to foster greater understanding of the cultural, linguistic and physical setting for Second Temple Judaism and nascent Christianity, the relationship of these faiths and their shared socio-religious milieu, and to support efforts that will make current research about these topics more widely available.
Our programs and resources support scholarly endeavors with the intention of making current research available to underrepresented students, clergy and wider public audiences.
Contact: Constance L. Diggs
CSAJCO
646.378.6148
csajco@gmail.com
Source: The Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins
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